Best/Worst Stadiums you've visited (stories appreciated)
Got the case of the Mondays. The children are going to be stampeding around the streets very soon around here, so I am getting fist ready to shake at them whilst yelling at them to get off of my lawn.
This was a thread awhile back ago. I'm talking 2-3 years ago on here when I was a non-member. Anyways, what is the best stadium you have been to and the worst stadium?
Would love to hear experiences, especially stories about bad ones since the last time we did this I got quite a laugh from some stories.
My best- Fenway Park. One of the true grand old houses of baseball left standing. They don't make them like that anymore and it was a throwback to Tiger Stadium.
Worst- BY FAR, spartan stadium. Went there in 2003 and 2007. Place is a dump, fans are assholes, upper deck felt like it was swaying at times. They can put up all the HD video screens they want. Just like you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.
Honorable mention for best: Tiger Stadium (one of the last ones to leave the stadium when it closed. Very sad day for me. Remember crying as I was leaving for the final time).
Also I visited this piece of baseball history last weekend-
Hamtramck Stadium. Home of the Detroit Stars of the Negro League back in the 1930s. One of very few Negro League stadiums still surviving. Some great players played on that field like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Turkey Stearnes of the Stars.
I like vintage ballparks and hate Sparty.
Worst for me was Philadelphia Veterans Stadium. I went to a baseball game there, saw Curt Schilling pitch, and mostly marveled at how awful the stadium was. I'm not from Philly, so I thought the rumours of how sterile and run-down the stadium were hyperbole. Nope, they were understated. 56K seats for baseball, and few if any seemed like they'd be good.
Bad venue! BAD Venue!!
Best would be a tie. Yost was a fantastic venue when i was in school (b/f the recent renovation). Felt like I was on top of the ice, and the best energy I've felt at sporting events. Also, Ned Skeldon Stadium - home to the Toledo Mud Hens until 2001 - was just fantastic. You felt like you were going back in time, and there were no sideshows to speak of. Just great baseball, with players on the fringe of making it to The Show. Best baseball experience I've had.
I love Toledo. Probably my second favorite city behind Ann Arbor.
I'd love to live there. Love the Mud Hens, love 5/3 field, love the zoo. Have I ever told you I love Toledo?
You are literally one of the only people I've ever heard say ''I'd love to live in Toledo.''
Ha, i was gonna say the same exact thing. I don't hear many people say they love living in Toledo. And especially don't hear them say its their second favorite city. I definitely don't share the same love of living in Toledo.
I live about a mile from the Ned but haven't been there since i was in grade school so i don't even remember what the inside looks like.
Sure it was a dump, but it had cheap tix, free parking, was easy to get to, had seats close to the players, with all those crazy billboard signs on the outfield wall facing the field. 5/3 is new and nice, but it's sort of sterile by comparison.
Hard to pick just one....
Favorites:
- Michigan Stadium circa 1997 - The expansion and everything is great, but I miss what it was in 1996-99, my years as a student, particularly '96-97. The old scoreboards without video, the full student section, marshmallows, turf, no rawk music and, for at least one year, the best defense in the country bar none. Ah, the memories.
- Tiger Stadium (Detroit) - Sitting in the right-field overhang or the left field upper deck by the foul pole, you seriously felt like you were in the game. I've seen a dozen MLB ballparks and think Comerica is one of the best new parks, but Tiger Stadium was something special.
- Dodger Stadium (LA) - Beautiful scenery looking out past the outfield bleachers and just a classic mid-century modern elegance to the architecture. Scary as an opposing fan in Tigers gear, particularly when seated amongst the gang members in the cheap seats.
- Notre Dame Stadium - It's a cute little version of the Big House. Perfect for kids. Adorable.
- Maple Leaf Gardens - Even on the coldest mid-February Toronto evening, that place was a sauna, but the site lines were amazing and you could smell the history.
Not favorites:
- Oakland/Alameda County Colosseum - The stadium itself is a piece of 60's trash, a heap of crumbling concrete. The fans are actually some of the best in the game and deserve much better than having to watch baseball in that dump of a football stadium.
- Coors Field (Denver) and Jacobs Field/Progessive Field (Cleveland) - Had heard so many great things about these parks but they were built just a little too early and don't have the touches that some of the slightly newer stadiums like CoPa, ATT Park, and PNC Park have.
- The Palace of Auburn Hills - Awful location away from the world, boring cookie cutter arena, terrible sight lines unless you have floor seats.....hate it.
- So many of the smaller NCAA stadiums just don't have "it" and are all about the same. I've seen games in Indiana's stadium, Arizona State, Arizona and at Cuse. The stadia are different but, in terms of atmosphere, they are all the same - dead.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a "bad" ballpark, it's just not as glorious as I expected it to be based on what I had heard for years and years before I had been there. I like when the parks do something functionally unique and to me, Coors was architecturally very nice but lacking in those other areas.
The area around the park is fine, but is there anything memorable about the stadium itself?
Before the Raiders moved back in the mid-90's the stadium wasn't bad. It was still kind of a concrete jungle but Al Davis had them build the huge abomination of stands in centerfield when the Raiders came back. There used to be little to no stands out there. Just some flowers and shrubs with a nice view of the Oakland hills as a back drop.
You seem to have a strong knowledge of the stadium - any possibility they restore the park to what it was before the NFL came in? Or are there plans for a new A's stadium in the works?
The ownership group that bought the team in 2005 have no interest in keeping it here. They've been trying to facilitate a move to San Jose for years.
Oakland stadium as being one of the worst. Funny how it reminded me of Sparty stadium (also a worst pick).
Browns stadium had the worst experience. All their fans want to do is fight and throw crap.
Soldier Field has the worst architecture. Looked like the Jupiter II crashed into the old stadium.
Best: Camp Randall, Wrigley Field, and Petco Park
Other than Michigan, Wisconsin has been my favorite college gameday experience so far. I have been there twice, once drunk and once sober, and enjoyed myself both times. Petco Park is on this list simply because it is a nice stadium in a city with nice weather. I went to a Padres game two days after breaking my elbow on vacation (trying to jump over a tennis net and failed miserably) and still managed to have a great time. Went to Wrigley with my dad when I was younger and watched Sammy Sosa hit two HR's.
Worst: The Metrodome and The Oakland A's Stadium
Had Vikings season tickets with my dad and that place is just a dump. Also, there was always just the wrong combination of farm boys and rich kids at the games that led to alot of fights in our section. It was fun at first, but not when you are interupted every game.
The Oakland A's stadium sucked when I went. The place was empty, I got awful sunburn and the stadium was far from nice.
Worst: Where the Browns play. Complete shit hole.
Wrigley is a shit hole. Watching a game is amazing because your so close but the facility is horrific
I second the Randall Field comment - went there twice, and both times the fans were having so much fun they sort of forgot the game. That was back when the Badgers were not good, so maybe thinks have changed now...
I'd also put in a vote for Mountaineer Stadium - the fans were very funny (back in the Nehlen days), the tailgate out of this world, and if the team is getting beat the view on an autumn day with the leaves changing in the surrounding mountains is incredible. I actually sang "Country Road" at the end, a tradition which should bother my arrogant indie-music loving self but which I instead loved...
Welsh-Ryan Arena (Northwestern) might be the most jaw-dropping embarassment of an arena in D1 athletics. Bar none.
I know a few high schools with better facilities....
but as a non-NU alum I like how simple and cheap it is. I like Ryan Field for the same reason. And the fans are quite bearable.
Best other stadiums I can think of are Folsom Field at CU (prior to ugly luxury box addition), Tiger Stadium at LSU (night games are amazing and renovations have been done pretty well), and the old World Arena in Colorado Springs where Colorado College played hockey (not sure the ice was even full size and the place was a tinder box, but it was such a small, odd stadium for a D-1 program that I really like it).
Wrigley Field blows? Did I just hear that right? You must have meant the Cubs organization in general (which I would agree with), because the Friendly Confines are a top-5 park for any reasonable fan of baseball anywhere...
I think Wrigley is the best baseball stadium, but I can understand someone saying it's the worst. Most people either love Wrigley or hate it. Sox fans especially hate it.
Worst: Crisler pre renovation
Best: Crisler after renovation
I haven't had thepleasure of attending games at many of the stadiums in MLB, but as a Blue Jays fan my entire 39 years I honestly thought the rogers centre would be awesome....and then I actually attended a game.
It was probably pretty cool when it was the first of its kind way back when it was built...but the novelty certain has worn off. They compound that with the artificial turf so not only is it bad as a fan, it sucks as a player as well.
I will say that it is in a great location though. Right in the middle of downtown Toronto with lots to do a places to stay within spitting distance of the stadium. I guess they got that part right at least.
University of Washington Husky Stadium. Opinion is probably skewed by time, but when they were a powerhouse it an unbelievably cool atmosphere on gameday. Beautiful campus, strong, strong tailgate effort (I mean where else could you sample fresh sushi, salmon and shellfish, in the company of countless gorgeous Amerasian women, with giant volcanos looming in the distance?).
My experience there was a life changer. I always represented Michigan, and NEVER had an impolite comment. It was usually something like "great school, my dad went there", or "my second favorite school anywhere".
In addition to dozens of other great games, I saw U Dub absolutely TRUCK Ohio State - and it was one of the best days of my life.
I've been to three Husky games since 2010, and I have to say, I have not been all that impressed. I think the subpar quality of the team has had a lot to do with it, as the general mood of the fans has been more "testy" than "excited." The stadium itself was kind of a dump, even if it is perched right on Lake Washington with a terrific view of Rainier--but they are currently renovating it, so I expect that problem will be taken care of.
I do wish I had been to a game here back in the day, when UW was really good. I think it would have been a completely different experience.
Aren't they completely renovating Husky Stadium? Should be really nice when that's done. The upper decks in there are also seem like they're insanely steep, and when you add the overhang onto it that place must be loud as hell.
The husky stadium was kinda a dump, no lighting in the concourse and it felt like walking around a parking garage. The renovations are completely redoing the concourses so that shoud improve. Tailgating on boats in Lake Washington is awesome though, but it's hard to look good wearing purple to a football game.
But the worst problem with Husky Stadium is the runing track between the stands and the field. It pushes all the seats 30 feet back on the sidelines and about 80 feet back on the endzone.
Husky stadium is being renovated and will reopen this fall without the track, with new lightings in the concourses, and seats (instead of bleachers) in the stands. In addition, some much needed earthquake retrofits are being implemented. Insiders suggest that the renovated stadium will "take the infrastructure into the 21st century"... Now if Sarkisian can actually deliver a respectable product on the field...
Now on to the thread topic:
Best Stadiums:
1. Baseball: AT&T Park, San Francisco; best view of the league, loud fans, good food.
2. Football: Michigan Stadium (Of course); Notre Dame Stadium; the history, the tradition, Touchdown Jesus, and some of the classiest home fans. (When I was there in 2002, a bunch of ND alums told an ND student to remove his "Ann Arbor is a whore T-shirt".)
3. Basketball / Hockey: Old Yost (Defines what college hockey is about); Staples Center (Amenities supreme); Williams Arena, Minnesota (love the raised floor, very unique).
Worst Stadiums:
1. Baseball: Oakland Coliseum: Best fans, worst amenities... The bathroom floods after seven innings when the A's draw 5,000 fans, imagine how it is like during a Raider game. Metrodome: Worst sightlines in baseball. Needed a chiropractic appointment after setting through 9 innings behind the dugouts.
2. Football: Candlestick Park, San Francisco; That's why 49ers came back after the power outage during the Superbowl, they have had ample practice during home games the last few years. The Shoe, Columbus; Absolutely the worst fans on earth, throwing bottles at road fans when you are 20 and drunk is a right of passage; throwing bottles at road fans when you are 40 and drunk is a disgrace to your family, school, and state.
3. Basketball / Hockey: Jenison Field House, East Lansing; most meat lockers were warmer than that place.
although I only saw Giants games there, and not the 49ers. What a dump -- no amenities, bad seating, the whole package. Unfortunately, I moved before they built AT&T, and I haven't been back there to see a game since then.
Not sure if it is one of my favorites, but you cannot beat the location right on the water, next to a large Metropolitan city. Hope the new upgrade will turn the stadium into something special that it deserves to be.
Just driving up to the stadium you can tell it is a nightmare. You can't miss the misshapen thing when you are coming from Tampa into St. Pete. I always tell my friends who havent visited it is like watching a baseball game in a Sam's Club. If you sit on the first or third base line you have to shift your body towards home plate and if you don't your neck will hurt for a week. I was at a game were a player hit a pop fly and it hit a steel beam and fell back into play.
Worst: Alamo bowl. Has nothing too it.